PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Thursday strongly criticized an
announcement by the Australian government that it is to stop referring
to East Jerusalem as occupied territory.

Attorney-General George
Brandis announced Thursday that describing East Jerusalem as occupied
"is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither
appropriate nor useful."

"It should not and will not be the
practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation
in such judgmental language."

Ashrawi said it is "disgraceful"
and "shocking" that on the 47th anniversary of Israel's occupation of
the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza that Brandis would make such
"inflammatory" statements.

"Israel's illegal annexation of East
Jerusalem is beyond 'pejorative' and 'inappropriate'; it is a deliberate
and egregious violation, not just of international humanitarian law and
consensus, but of the basic norms of responsible behavior that governs
relations among civilized states."

"Trying to fabricate or
distort the law to fit Israel's lawless behavior is shameful and
dangerous. Attorney-General Brandis, whether out of ignorance or
whether out of blind bias, is trying to render Australia complicit in
the Israeli occupation, and is forcing it to become an advocate of
international criminal behavior," she concluded.

East Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community.

On
May 21, 1968, the United Nations Security Council reaffirmed that the
"acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible."

The
resolution stated that "all legislative and administrative measures and
actions taken by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties
thereon, which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid
and cannot change that status."

The Jordanian authorities and the PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have slammed the heavy deployment of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and police inside of holy al-Aqsa yards along with their frequent attempts to crack down on the Muslim congregation as opposed to their leniency regarding the Israeli desecration break-ins. According to a press statement by the Jordanian Minister of State for Information Affairs and Government’s official spokesperson, Dr. Muhamad Al-Momani, such Israeli attacks represent flagrant breaches to all religious, ethical, and international laws and UN resolutions. Al-Momani has warned of a potential eruption of a religious conflict due to the Israeli conspiracies targeting the sanctity of al-Aqsa. The Jordanian official called on the international community, organizations, and the world’s decision-makers to urge the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) to bring Israeli settler vandalism to a halt. The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs has already expressed to the IOA its firm rejection of the arbitrary access-bans issued against the peaceful Muslim congregation on Tuesday morning and the blockade of al-Aqsa’s main entrances. The ministry further condemned the random confiscation of Palestinians’ IDs and the heavy military deployment at and around the mosque. Along the same context, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday, has called on the Arab and Islamic nations to take serious action so as to protect the sanctity of the holy Aqsa mosque. Abbas has slammed the Israeli settler attacks carried under shield by the IOF and warned of the perils of the excavation procedures below the foundations of the mosque. PA Chairman further called on the Jordanian authorities, Committees of Jerusalem, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab and Islamic leaders to assume their historic, religious, and national responsibilities vis-à-vis the mosque. Abbas is to attend a conference held by the OIC in Jeddah on June 18 over the challenges lying ahead of al-Aqsa and all the other Islamic and Christian sanctities, the statement further pointed out.

The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage called for boycotting the International Festival of Lights to be held next week in different areas of the Old City, in Occupied Jerusalem, and around al-Aqsa Mosque. The Foundation spoke, in a statement on Wednesday, against the attempts of the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) to attract as many Jerusalemites as possible to such a Judaization festival through a large-scale ad campaign in Arabic language. “Beneath the carnivalic façade of the festival lies an undeniable Judaization conspiracy executed via lies, ad hominem campaigns and made-up stories and histories. The program of the ceremony stands in sharp contrast to the sanctity of Occupied Jerusalem,” the statement pointed out. “The fact that the festival is staged around al-Aqsa bears witness to IOA’s attempts to desecrate the sacredness of the holy mosque and wipe out all authentic traces of the Islamic civilization in Occupied Jerusalem,” the statement further pointed out. According to the Israeli Jerusalem 2014 Cultural Calendar posted on Think-Israel website, “Jerusalem heats up when the sixth Jerusalem Festival of Light (June11-19) brings the greatest light sculptors in the world to Jerusalem. Their works will light up the streets and alleys of the Old City, major tourist sites and public spaces.” “The festival aims at exerting a pull on tourists, disseminating the Talmudic version on Occupied Jerusalem, entrenching the Jewish presence in the city, and wiping out the Islamic character within,” Al-Aqsa Foundation concluded.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) last night intensified their presence in different areas of Nablus city to provide protection for Jewish settlers who came in droves to visit the mausoleum of Joseph's tomb. Local sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that many Israeli troops were deployed at Za'tara checkpoint, which is located between Nablus and Ramallah. They added that scores of Jewish settlers entered the city in buses at a late night hour under military protection to perform rituals at the mausoleum. An intensive Israeli military presence was also reported in the vicinity of the Hawara town. Citizens from Hawara told the PIC that the IOF warned the residents of severe punitive measures if any passing buses or vehicles carrying Jewish settlers were attacked with stones. In another incident, the IOF declared on Wednesday evening that it had closed permanently the southern entrance to Aqraba town, south of Nablus.

Israeli forces continued their violations against the Palestinian people and their property, Wednesday, with raids near Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus and in occupied East Jerusalem.

Soldiers, today, handed demolition notices to five families of al-Hathaleen tribe, in Um el- Khair village, south of Hebron and to the east of Yatta.

Rateb al-Jbour, who coordinates the anti-wall and settlement popular committee in southern Hebron, said that the families were ordered to remove barbed wire fences and gardens as a prelude to the seizing of their lands, in an expansion of illegal Israeli settlement of Karmiel.

The 150-dunam plot of land, according to WAFA, is designated as part of Area C and under full Israeli control.

In response to the new Palestinian government formation, Israeli MK, Opher Akonis,has called for giving serious thought to the idea of annexing Area C of the occupied West Bank that is under the full Israeli sovereignty.

The Oslo II Accord divided the West Bank into three administrative divisions, says Al Ray: Area A (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority), area B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control) and area C (full Israeli civil and security control).

Al-Jbour told the PNN that forces also seized the residents cars and tractors, in order to prevent access in and out of the village.

In al-Khader village, to the south of Bethlehem, Israeli authorities set up new settlements constructions on Palestinians lands, today, as well.

Huassan Bragyeh, coordinator of the Popular Resistance against the Wall and Settlement in Bethlehem, said that authorities upgraded the settlers’ carnivals to concrete constructions, making the permanent structures in the area, according to the PNN.

He added that the Israel continues to build in this area, south of Bethlehem, most likely as an effort to extend the illgal settlement of Efrat from its eastern and southern sections, in order to divide Bethlehem.

Al-Khader land owners are now networking with organizations that might help them to retrieve their property through the Israeli court system.

Palestinian sources have informed PNN that around 60 Israeli Settlers raided the compound this morning, for the purpose of performing Talmudic prayers. Following the raid, Israeli police obstructed Palestinians from praying, in protection of settlers who were still in the compound.

According to the sources, the department of Awqaf in Jerusalem has attempted to open the gates and evacuate the settlers, with Palestinian organizations in Jerusalem afraid that the raids may activate an Israeli plan to divide the compound itself.

WAFA reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the repeated assaults on Al Aqsa by Israeli Knesset members, settlers and police, calling on the Arab and Islamic world, including the Kingdom of Jordan, the Jerusalem Committee and the Organization of Islamic Conference to make prompt decisions and real steps to protect and defend it.

He warned of the ongoing excavations beneath the mosque, warning that it was liable to collapse at any moment.

Furthermore, WAFA reports that Abbas has decided to attend the Jeddah-based conference of the Organization of Islamic Conference, which is scheduled for June 18th, in light of the danger facing the mosque and other Muslim and Christian holy sites.

He called for activation of the Arab summit resolutions, and for the Committee on Jerusalem and Holy Sites to take steps in protecting and maintaining the Arab cultural identity of Jerusalem.

In addition to today's attacks, Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activities in the West Bank, told Ma'an News Agency that "a number of settlers from the Havat Gilad ("Gilad's Farm") settlement burned dozens of trees and the fire spread in the area", in the Palestinian villages of Farata and Immatin west, in the Nablus region, in a targeted attack on local villagers, adding that "Palestinian civil defense was trying to reach the area to put out the fire."

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, states Ma'an, with over 90 percent of investigations by Israeli police failing to lead to indictment.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct violation of international law, to which Israel is signatory.

A number of Palestinian institutions and national forces in Sebastia town northwest of Nablus called for putting an end to Israeli attempts to falsify historical facts of Palestinian archaeological sites in the area. In a statement on Wednesday, the Palestinian institutions and national forces confirmed that Israeli occupation keeps introducing Sebastia's archaeological sites as Jewish monuments as part of its Judaization schemes in the town.

The statement warned of Israeli continued practices and violations targeting Palestinian historical and cultural infrastructure.

Under the pretext of restoring the site, Israeli occupation carried out drilling and exploration operations, the statement added.

The Palestinian institutions and national forces called for protecting Palestinian heritage and archaeological sites before it is too late, and putting an end to Israeli ongoing violations.

For their part, Sebastia's residents called for adopting a new Palestinian resistance strategy in order to strengthen Palestinian adherence to their national constants and rights.

They also called for internationalizing the issue of Sebastia's archaeological sites at the UN and UNESCO organizations and exposing Israeli violations.

The Israeli repressive measures in the occupied Jerusalem indicated that Israel started virtually to divide the time of worship at al-Aqsa mosque between Muslims and Jews, the member of the Executive committee in the PLO and Head of the Jerusalem Affairs Ahmed Qurei’ said. “Amid the silence of the Arab and Islamic nations towards the continuous Israeli violations, Al-Aqsa mosque is in a real danger as the holy city is subjected to judaization by the Israeli occupation,” Qurei added. He explained that the Israeli military has been preventing worshipers from entering al-Aqsa mosque for the second day in a row and closing its gates and entrances to pave the way for settlers’ attacks. Such actions prevail a state of tension in Jerusalem. In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers, often accompanied by Israeli security forces, have repeatedly forced their way into the Al-Aqsa complex. The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.

For the second consecutive day, the Israeli forces continued their siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented Muslims from entering while allowing setters to break-in on occasion of theThe occupation prevents Muslims from entering Al-Aqsa while allowing dozens of settlers to break-in “Shavuot” holiday. Witnesses from inside Al-Aqsa said that dozens of settlers broke into Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate in the form of groups. Among them was the member of Knesset, Michael Ben Ari, who broke into Al-Aqsa along with another group of extremists and chanted “the Temple Mount is now in our hands”. Also, Rabbi Yehuda Galik was among the settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa and led three groups and they performed their religious rituals while inside Al-Aqsa and under heavy protection from the police. One settler verbally assaulted Sheikh Abdelatheem Salhab, director of Al-Awqaf council, and the guards confronted the setters and the police immediately took him outside Al-Aqsa. Witnesses also explained that the Israeli police closed all of Al-Aqsa Gates except for (Hutta, Al-Majles and Al-Silsileh) and established iron barriers at the gates. They also prevented men under the age of 50 from entering Al-Aqsa as well as preventing women of all ages and Al-Aqsa students (Masateb). Scattered clashes broke out near Al-Aqsa Gates between the worshippers and the forces stationed at the Gates. The forces arrested one man near Hutta Gate while attempting to enter Al-Aqsa. Religious officials confirmed that the occupation and settlers profaned Al-Aqsa on Tuesday and said: “the occupation is imposing the – Temporal division of the Al-Aqsa Mosque- between the Jews and Muslims. They prevented Muslims of all ages (women, children, students and young men) from entering Al-Aqsa on Monday morning and until the afternoon and only allowed the elderly who are above 50 years of age to enter, and then opened the Gates at 4 p.m.”

Senior Jerusalemite religious figures warned of the gravity of the situation facing the Aqsa Mosque, affirming that the Israeli occupation regime attempts nowadays to impose its temporal and spatial division plan at the Mosque. This came during a news conference held on Tuesday afternoon by the higher Islamic council in Jerusalem outside Al-Asbat Gate of the Aqsa Mosque. "The Israeli occupation allowed large groups of settlers to break into the Aqsa Mosque today, and there are an unprecedented onslaught on the Aqsa Mosque in recent days as many [Muslim] worshipers are barred from entering it," head of the Islamic Awqaf board in Jerusalem Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab told journalists. "We urge the Islamic world to intervene swiftly to protect the Aqsa Mosque, and we also call upon the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to increase the number of the Aqsa Mosque's guards," Sheikh Salhab added. He also urged the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied land to frequent the Aqsa Mosque for prayers and intensify their presence throughout its premises or outside its gates if they failed to enter it because of the Israeli restrictions. For his part, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the higher Islamic council in Jerusalem, strongly denounced the Israeli occupation police for preventing many Palestinian worshipers and Awqaf employees from entering the Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday morning and confiscating their ID cards. Sheikh Sabri described the Israeli measures at the Aqsa Mosque as illegal and held the Israeli occupation authority in Jerusalem fully responsible for all resultant tension and violent events. "We would like to confirm that we have a legitimate right to the Aqsa Mosque, and that the military power will never confer legitimacy upon the occupation," he stated. For his part, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, the grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, highlighted in his speech the Jewish attempts to divide the Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially through defiling the sanctity of the Mosque on a daily basis. "The Jewish extremists attempt to impose a temporal and spatial division scheme at the Aqsa Mosque and make it a fait accompli, but we reject such situation. Today, they assaulted Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab at the Aqsa Mosque," Sheikh Hussein said. "Our standing here today is obvious proof that we have been prevented from entering the Aqsa Mosque, so we call upon the international community to intervene to curb the arrogance of the Israeli occupation," he stated.

Al-Quds international institution called on the nations around the world to actively participate in the global march to Jerusalem slated to kick off on the sixth and seventh of June in more than 42 countries. Director of the institution Yasin Hamoud said, in a press release, that massive rallies would be marching to Jerusalem or to the nearest point to it in the occupied Palestinian lands and the neighboring countries in addition to Islamic, European and Latin American countries. "While the occupation is celebrating its occupation of the entire city of Jerusalem, we need to pool all the efforts and capabilities to patronize Jerusalem. We still have faith in the Arab and Muslim peoples, and the world's free people who have renewed their allegiance to Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque through organizing the global march to Jerusalem," Hamoud stated. He urged the Palestinian and Arab masses and their popular and official institutions to actively participate in the march and its events so as to send a message to the Israeli occupation that the Arab and Muslim nations would protect Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque. For its part, the higher Islamic council in Jerusalem called for taking part in the sit-in to be organized next Friday afternoon in Al-Amoud Gate in occupied Jerusalem to commemorate the Naksa Day. The Islamic council stated, in a press release on Monday, that the sit-in would be taking place in response to the global march to Jerusalem, which would be held in different countries around the world.

Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said in a statement on Tuesday that Israeli occupation forces imposed tight restrictions on Palestinian worshipers' access to al-Aqsa Mosque. The Foundation confirmed that dozens of settlers broke into al-Aqsa Mosque, since the early morning hours, from the Magharbeh Gate. Tight restrictions were imposed on the entry of Palestinians to the mosque, as worshipers under the age of 50 were prevented from having access to its plazas in addition to some students. A state of tension prevailed following the imposed Israeli restrictions, as students of Islamic schools started shouting 'Takbeer' and slogans in support of al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli intensive presence and restrictions at the holy mosque came in coincidence with Shavuot Holiday (the day when God gave the Jewish people the Torah following Moses' descent from Mount Sinai). The alleged Temple organizations and extremist Jewish institutions have called for breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque starting from Tuesday. Mk Michael Ben- Ari said that around 100 of his supporters are going to storm al-Aqsa Mosque today to perform Talmudic rituals. Jewish websites and Facebook pages have called for storming al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to mark Shavuot Holiday. Al-Aqsa Foundation warned of the seriousness of Israeli escalated attacks and break-ins and continued attempts to impose a status quo in al-Aqsa Mosque. The foundation called for intensifying Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa Mosque in order to defend the holy site.

The Israeli occupation police decided to impose restrictions on the entry of the Palestinians to the Aqsa Mosque until the Jews finish their celebration of the revelation of their Torah next Saturday. The guards of the Aqsa Mosque said the Israeli police started as of Monday evening to take such arbitrary measures against the Palestinians who wanted to pray at the Mosque. The police prevented hundreds of Palestinian worshipers under age 45 from praying at the Aqsa Mosque and closed all its entrances, which forced scores of young men to pray outside its gates, according to the guards. Director of the Mosque Sheikh Omar Kaswani told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the Islamic Awqaf bureau in occupied Jerusalem lodged an objection with the Israeli police for their entry restrictions on the Palestinians and their closure of the Mosque's gates. Kaswani said that the Israeli police claimed that they took these measure because there would be a march for Jewish settlers at the Old City of Jerusalem and that they got information about the intention of Palestinian young men to hold a mass retreat at the Aqsa Mosque. He deplored such police claims as lame, and said that the police was supposed to prevent any Jewish marches from approaching the gates of the Aqsa Mosque instead of imposing entry restrictions on the Palestinians. The official also described the Israeli measures as part of a systematic policy to impose a new fait accompli at the Aqsa Mosque and an attempt to facilitate the entry of the Jews during this week to the Mosque's main courtyard.

The Israeli police prevented on Monday hundreds of worshippers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Noon, Afternoon, Evening and Night Prayers on the eve of the “descent of the Torah”. Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the Israeli siege on Al-Aqsa started in the early morning by preventing women from entering Al-Aqsa under the pretext of not having their IDs with them; note that the IDs are detained in Al-Qishleh police center since Sunday. Israeli forces were deployed at Al-Aqsa Gates and they surrounded the female Marabouts who were not allowed to enter Al-Aqsa. At 11:00 a.m. the Israeli forces started imposing restrictions on the entrance of young men and detained the IDs of some of them and prevented others from going in. At 12:00 p.m. the police suddenly closed Al-Aqsa Gates except for Al-Silsileh, Hutta and Al-Majles Gates and prevented men under the age of 50 from entering in addition to preventing all women. The Israeli procedures came on the eve of the “biblical pilgrimage” as several extremist Jewish groups called to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups in order to fulfill the commandment of the Torah, which impose on them a pilgrimage three times a year to the alleged Temple Mount, according to the texts of the Torah.Extremist Knesset member “Michael Ben Ari” intends to break into Al-Aqsa on Tuesday The extremist Ben Ari announced his intent to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday along with 100 of his extremist followers. He said that he will stand by the Gates of Al-Aqsa and challenge the police and Arabs and that the police must allow him to celebrate the “Shavuot” holiday. He ended his announcement by saying “the Temple Mount is now in our hands”..

The Israeli police prevented the female students of Masateb from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning. Dozens of students were gathered at the Gates of Al-Aqsa and chanted “God is Great”. They requested to enter Al-Aqsa but the police requested them to leave their personal IDs at the Gates. The female Marabouts explained that some IDs have been detained since Sunday in Al-Qishleh police station and that they were detained for several hours at the police station when they went to take the IDs and never got them. They added that the police request the females to go to Al-Qishleh and get their IDs before entering Al-Aqsa and some of them had their IDs that were given back to them by the police but they still were denied entrance. The Israeli police tightened its procedures around 10 a.m. and prevented many young men from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.